Those good enough for ya? Plenty more to go around! I never denied gun violence or obesity in America, but you are denying my claim just for the purpose of argument, when it is in fact true?
Yes, I know liberals love to allege this. Yet everyone wants to come here.
Further, it’s easy to be happy as long as one’s immediate needs are met, but that doesn’t mean that one has reached his maximum capacity for happiness. One can only wonder how much happier the residents of Norway would be were they allowed the opportunities, advantages, freedoms and lifestyles many Americans enjoy.
And like I alluded to before, if Norway had to recruit, arm and finance its own military life there would be considerably different, assuming it hadn’t already fallen to the Ruskies or the Germskies decades ago. Most of the free world in Europe owes its freedom and ability to fling money at social issues to the protection of the U.S. and its evil, capitalist economy and reviled military/industrial complex. If these countries had all found themselves having to finance their own military defenses they’d have had far less to spend on social largess.
You are a baldfaced liar. I’ve never said one word about anyone in those days being uppity and I’ve never defended or supported the racism that was prevalent then.
What I’ve appreciated about the 50s and early 60s is pretty much everything outside the realm of racial and sexual equality. It’s people like you, who have fucked everything up in the meantime, who love to cling to the deceit that that time was all about race and sexism because you believe it provides you with a foolproof way to escape culpability for the harm that liberal permissiveness and its offshoots have inflicted on this country since then.
Take false accusations of racism away from the left and they’d have nothing, no power, no influence, no ability to achieve anything. So it’s little wonder that people like Wolf333 are so quick to spout racially tinged lies about their opponents. Without them they have nothing.
We don’t. Moving to the US would mean a significant reduction in quality of life for most of us.
You don’t have to wonder anymore. We’d be less happy, not happier. The average quality of life in the Scandinavian countries is way better than the average quality of life in the USA.
And since I’ve lived in both countries, I actually know what I’m talking about. Unlike others here.
By the way, I never said there weren’t good people in poorer countries. People can strive for a better life, but at what cost to the rest of us, is that ever considered? If you are an American, try putting YOUR country first, instead of caring about everybody else and their problems. Oh, and vetting should be more strict and based on MERIT and SKILL.
There you go.
Sorry pal, Trump won and you’ve got to live with it. Go protest or get a rally going at your indie coffee shop if it’ll make you feel better and make you quit stomping your feet with your fingers in your ears. Also, it’s not very polite to reply with an insult. You reap what you sow. Remember that.
I believe he is using Norway as an example of a decent to well off country anywhere in the world(pick one) with migrants that have something to offer, versus low skilled ones with nothing to little to offer. Or the hypothetical, that if someone did want to move to the U.S. from Norway or the like. Doesn’t matter if Scandinavian country or not. Starving Artist can correct me if I am wrong.
Curious, what aspects of life are better in Norway vs. the U.S. since you’ve lived abroad? (I’m not being incendiary or anything, I am genuinely curious)
Off the top of my head: I don’t have to arm myself to feel safe on the street, my risk of being shot (by a robber, a clueless gun owner or a police officer) is nil, if I lose my job I won’t starve, end up in the street or lose medical coverage, I don’t have to spend more of my income on health insurance and college savings for my children than I currently pay in taxes, my wife didn’t suffer any setback in her career by having several children and our head of state isn’t a huge embarrassment to us whenever she says something to the press or travels abroad.
And I’m guessing your great-grandfather came over in the era around/just after WWI?
I see what you’re getting at but it’s not quite the same situation as nowadays, especially because the official US immigration policy in that era seems to have been “Everyone who doesn’t have TB and isn’t insane is welcome”.
What’s interesting is most first-world countries have immigration restrictions, even on skilled workers from other civilised countries, and no-one seems to think that’s egregious. My wife and I looked into moving to Canada about 18 months ago but because she doesn’t have a degree we basically won’t get enough “points” under their system to qualify for a residence/work visa.
I’m not wailing and gnashing my teeth and saying Justin Trudeau is a hoser because I can’t move to a country that reeks of moose and trees and have a swimming pool full of maple syrup in my backyard. I just accept that, as disappointing as it may be, those are the rules.
I am not saying people from shitty countries should never be allowed to move to the first world - just that when deciding who gets to move to a first world country, the shittiness of the applicant’s country and the skills they bring should be taken into account and where possible, people from less shitty countries (especially ones with a shared language and culture) should get priority over people from Elbonia or Ruritania.
Applicable in the U.S. as well, there are social programs to assist with this, surely not as comprehensive as your whereabouts and I am not vehemently against them, just against abuses (I see it all the time). How does your government deal with any abuses to assistance (if applicable?) I do see room for improvement (here) though, but implementing it is what is being consistently fought over and how much taxpayers have to cough up, with each side playing tug-of-war over what stipulations should be included. Another question if you will entertain it; What is your combined/effective tax rate? somewhere around 40%? higher? lower? I looked it up but the information varies too much.
Thanks for replying, I like getting this information from first-hand rather than online sources (they vary wildly).
Makes my decision that much easier. See, about nine years ago I came to the unavoidable conclusion that if Starving Artist ever accidentally posted something that was important for me to know, I’d eventually see the same information posted by someone else; someone who had NOT pigheadeadly demonstrated an unflinching dedication to pursuing the ideal of being wrong as often as possible.
So, I went to the wine cellar, uncorked (well unscrewed the bottle cap from) the cheapest rotgut in my stores,* and raised a glass to the last post of his I would ever deliberately read.
As I now do to yours.
*I keep such bottles of plonk on hand for just such an occasion.
…which are the one place where I’ve seen houses as large as those in the US; in fact, their architecture explains much of yours.
IKEA’s 25m[sup]2[/sup] rooms are both a mental exercise and addressed to people living in dorms.
Most first world countries don’t have an enormous propaganda machine dedicated to convincing their own citizens and the rest of the world that they’re the best country on Earth. Most first world countries don’t combine it with an immigration system that’s designed completely for the benefit of the lawyers. Most first world countries don’t scream bloody murder when other countries have the bollocks to expect their electoral results to be respected. What’s galling isn’t having restrictions, it’s the hypocrisy.
This thread has devolved into watching members of Trump’s White Trash Nation drop to their knees and spin, spin, spin for their betters.
Any expectation of Trump representing this country with dignity and respect is now some sort of liberal delusion. Keeping eating his shit, brothers and sisters. You are some proud Americans.
The first thing to note is that ranking countries, and asserting that one’s own country is *objectively *#1, is largely a US phenomenon. Most people elsewhere appreciate that there are pros and cons to most countries, and where you choose to live depends on which are most important to you personally.
So when I criticize the US, I’m not necessarily saying China, or wherever, is better. I’m not going to start waving a red flag and chanting P R C ! P R C !
But, since you asked, I have chosen to live in China, and I rejected the chance to work in the US. For me, I’ve always found US culture a bit bizarre, with the whole “god and guns” thing, and recently it’s taken a turn for the worst. The culture was already moving to being more adversarial and anti-intellectual; Trump is just a symptom of all that.
This being The BBQ Pit, I’m sure you’ll now tell me America wouldn’t want a Big Bozo like me anyway (or you may use even worse language). Well, whatever. You asked.
Actually it depends on the specific individuals.
Since several people have tried to explain racism to you in this thread, let me try to add a rule of thumb: Any time you make an observation about large groups of people and you omit qualifiers like “on average” or “in general”, what you’re saying is probably either discriminatory or a tautology.
